Letter From The President: The Price of ‘Pretty Good’ Is Going Up

Greg Hanson

Dear Friends,

Refrigerated logistics has always been the critical brother in the supply chain family. Ice cream requires deep-frozen; confectioneries need a little more shelter from the storm, and yogurt lives and breathes within a few degrees.

If the demand for fresh dated product and food safety isn't enough to keep you on your toes, we now have the skyrocketing cost of diesel to fuel the fires of continuous improvement. No one can predict the long-term impact of high energy costs, but one thing is certain: the price you pay for having just a ‘pretty good’ supply chain solution is going up.

The numbers speak for themselves. Transportation represents 70% of supply chain costs, and fuel has risen to the point where independent truckers now operate at a loss if they haul anything but full truckloads on butter smooth interstates.

What has been a lofty goal is now mission critical; trucks must move fully loaded; distribution centers must be located in ideal locations; and technology must minimize transaction costs.

In this challenging economy, the smart logisticians will distance themselves from the pack. We will see bold initiatives, ones that leverage the power of collaboration and the economies of scale. Pretty good will no longer be profitable or acceptable.

We believe our Chicago Consolidation Center offers such a solution, perhaps not to every shipper, but certainly to many of the food companies that find themselves shackled by less than optimal networks, with DCs that are difficult to access and technology that falls short of the promise.

We look forward to the challenge.

Sincerely,

Gregory P. Hanson
President & CEO


Click here to send Greg an email or call him at 269.982.1390.



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